Josh Claytor

The College of Wooster, ranked No. 17 in this week's NCAA Div. III top-25 poll (D3hoops.com), starts what it hopes will be an extended postseason run Tuesday, Feb. 19, as Oberlin College (7-18) visits 3,400-seat Timken Gymnasium for a North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal match-up. Wooster won the NCAC regular season championship, its eighth of the last nine years and league-leading 15th overall, and thus is the No. 1 seed for this week's tourney. Eighth-seeded Oberlin has given the Fighting Scots trouble the last two times they met, including earlier this season when Wooster grinded out a 74-66 decision at Oberlin on Nov. 25. In their lone game of the 2011-12 season, the Yeomen were ahead at halftime (31-29) before the Scots came back for a 70-58 victory.

If Wooster can get past Oberlin on Tuesday night, then Timken Gym will be the home for the NCAC Tournament semifinals and championship game on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 22-23. The Scots' potential semi would be against either No. 4 seed DePauw University (16-9) or fifth-seeded Wittenberg University (16-9) on Friday at 8 p.m., or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first semifinal, which will tip-off at 6 p.m. The favorite on the bottom half of the bracket is second-seeded and No. 24 ranked Ohio Wesleyan University (19-5). The two winners from the semis advance to Saturday's final, scheduled at 7 p.m., and on the line will be the conference's automatic berth into the 2013 NCAA Div. III Championship field.

Ticket Info: As determined by the conference office, ticket prices for the quarterfinals are $7 for adults and $5 for children (18 and under) and students without an NCAC institution ID as well as those with an NCAC guest pass. Prices for the semis (one ticket is good for both games) are $10 for adults and $5 for children/students/NCAC pass holders, and the same $10/$5 structure is in effect for the championship game. For all rounds, admission is free for NCAC students with an NCAC institution ID.

NCAC Tourney Notes: Wooster has had a great deal of success in the NCAC Tournament, having captured 14 of the 28 previous titles, eight more than any other school in the conference. The Scots, champions in 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 are a league-best 57-14 all-time (.803) in NCAC tourney play.

Overall, Wooster has 20 NCAC Tournament championship game appearances to its credit, highlighted by a streak of 11 in a row (1997-2007). Last year, as the No. 2 seed, the Scots scored the final eight points to edge DePauw University 59-51 in the quarterfinals, then beat third-seeded Ohio Wesleyan University 89-80 in the semis, and used a late defensive stand to win the title over the surprising No. 5 seed, Denison University, 53-51. As the top seed, Wooster has won the NCAC tourney eight times (1995, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011).

Regular Season Recap: Eight letterwinners returned for the Scots in 2012-13, and despite several playing different roles, they, along with nine freshmen, successfully reloaded after the graduation of three starters.

Wooster's non-league slate was highlighted by wins over Baldwin Wallace University (81-74) and Marietta College (59-57), two of the top-three teams in the Ohio Athletic Conference this season, while its two losses came against squads that have been nationally-ranked at times, Adrian College (57-56 on a buzzer beater) and Transylvania University (68-62).

Within the NCAC, the Scots only blemishes came during separate road trips to Indiana, with Wabash College (55-48) and DePauw University (68-52) upending Wooster at home for the second consecutive year. The Scots swept the regular season series against both second-place Ohio Wesleyan University (88-82 and 74-67 in OT) and archrival Wittenberg University (60-41 and 75-71).

As usual, Wooster is balanced offensively and plays stingy team defense. The Scots currently rate 15th in NCAA Div. III in defensive field-goal percentage (.381) and they have six players averaging 6.0 or more points, led by the guard combination of Xavier Brown (Bowling Green, Ohio / Bowling Green) and Doug Thorpe (Columbus, Ohio / Eastmoor Academy). Brown, a sophomore, is pumping in 13.6 points a game and Thorpe, a junior, 13.0, and they're also the top distributors on the team, averaging 4.7 assists between them.

In the post, seniors Josh Claytor (Oxford, Ohio / Talawanda) and Jake Mays (Tallmadge, Ohio / Tallmadge) allow Wooster to have a veteran presence on the floor at all times. Subbing in for each other, they average a nearly identical 9.2 and 8.8 points, respectively, with Mays also producing 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks and Claytor 5.7 rebounds.

The other starters are sophomores Kenny DeBoer (Westerville, Ohio / Westerville North) and Evan Pannell (Akron, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban). DeBoer, a 6-5, 220-pound forward, has come on strong of late, raising his season averages to 8.6 points and 4.5 rebounds. Noteworthy, he made 16 consecutive field goals during one four-game stretch (Jan. 16-26). Pannell, a 6-2 athletic perimeter player, is one of the Scots' top defenders while chipping in 6.9 points a night.

One of Wooster's other strengths is depth, as a number of others have the potential to make key contributions any given game, such as sophomore guard Jalen Goodwin (Liberty Twp., Ohio / Lakota East), freshman wing DeVaughn Wingard (Shaker Hts., Ohio / Orange), freshman wing Alex LaLonde (Wooster, Ohio / Wooster), who joined the team mid-semester after transferring from the Air Force Academy, and freshman guard Geoff FuQuay (Arnold, Pa. / Valley).